Sunday, 20 Jan 2008 11:04
Henin will be severely tested by Sharapova in their quarter-final
Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova will face each other in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after coming through their fourth round ties.
Henin defeated Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei 6-2 6-2, while Sharapova beat fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-0.
The world number one is yet to drop a set in the tournament and despite being far from her best form still proved too good for Hsieh.
Both players dropped serve in the first two games before Henin got control of the match. She led 3-2 and the served out to win the first set comfortably.
Having broken Hsieh's valiant defence the Belgian then went 5-0 ahead in the second set.
But when she served for the match Hsieh snatched a surprise service break. However that only delayed the inevitable and Henin served out the match at her next opportunity.
The Belgian will have to improve vastly when she faces Sharapova who appears to be playing well after demolishing world number 11 Dementieva.
The fifth seed gained a break early in the first set and never looked back, dominating her opponent from start to finish.
Sharapova made 18 winners during the match, which lasted a mere 62 minutes, and converted six of seven break point opportunities.
The second set was even more one-sided than the fist as Sharapova won all six games to cruise into the last eight.
Elsewhere, third seed Jelena Jankovic beat Australian Casey Dellacqua 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 to set up a quarter-final against defending champion Serena Williams who overcame Nicole Vaidisova 6-3 6-4.